20251226 THE GIFT OF SELF TO GOD AND HUMANITY
26 December 2025, Friday, St Stephen, The First Martyr
First reading |
Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59 |
The martyrdom of Stephen
Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):3-4,6,8,16-17 |
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
As for me, I trust in the Lord:
let me be glad and rejoice in your love.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps117:26,27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord:
the Lord God is our light.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 10:17-22 |
The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.
‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.’
THE GIFT OF SELF TO GOD AND HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22]
Christmas is a celebration of the gift of God to us in Christ. It is not just any gift, but the gift of Himself. In the Gospel of John, the Lord says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). In Romans, St. Paul writes, “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” (Rom 8:32). Indeed, the gift of Christmas is unlike any gift we receive from our loved ones and friends. They may give us the best Christmas presents, but no gift can be compared to the gift of God Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. God gave without reservation or conditions. He gave to unworthy recipients, for as Paul says in Romans, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, who teaches us how to receive the gift of God in Christ. One of the sadnesses and tragedies of life is that we often do not know how to appreciate or receive gifts properly. At Christmas, many of us receive gifts, yet some are unappreciative of the efforts made by those who take the trouble to find the right gift for us. We often evaluate gifts in terms of their monetary value rather than the generosity and kindness of the giver. The truth is that some gifts cannot be measured by their price or usefulness; they are expressions of the heart of the giver. At the same time, it is also true that some give gifts without sincerity, doing so merely out of routine, custom, or social pressure. Such giving is not genuine and therefore is not a true gift of oneself, or even a part of oneself.
So how should we best receive the gift of Jesus at Christmas? We are called to receive not only the Child Jesus, but everything He comes to give us–His entire life, from birth to death and resurrection. This is why, on the second day of Christmas, we are invited to listen to the story of salvation, beginning with the Old Testament and culminating in the death and resurrection of our Lord. The Feast of St. Stephen provides a framework for reflecting on the deeper meaning of Christmas, which makes sense only when illuminated by the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Without the life of Jesus and the Paschal Mystery, there would be no celebration of Christmas, for the Incarnation is believed only because of the Resurrection. Thus, receiving the gift of the Child Jesus at Christmas is but a prelude to accepting the entirety of Christ’s life–His birth, His ministry to the sick, the marginalised, and sinners, and His offering of His life on the cross for the salvation of souls.
St. Stephen leads the way by showing how Christ’s life of self-emptying love transformed his own life. When he reflected on the life of Christ, who emptied Himself of His glory and power by coming to earth to serve and to die humbly on the cross, Stephen was inspired to imitate Christ, his Master and Saviour. He, too, was moved to offer his life as a gift to God and to humanity, drawn by the love of God revealed in Christ. Reflecting on God’s graciousness and humility–His loving service, His self-emptying of power and divinity, and His life of poverty and simplicity–Stephen realised that the only way to respond to such a gift was to love as the Lord loved. Love is the only weapon that can win hearts and proclaim the Gospel. As St. Paul later wrote, “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them” (2 Cor 5:14-15). This is why St. Stephen is called the first martyr and why his feast is celebrated immediately after Christmas: he gave his life for Christ and for us.
St. Stephen followed Jesus by serving the poor and the suffering. He was one of the seven deacons chosen by the apostles to assist in caring for the poor and for widows (Acts 6:5). His love for Christ was not expressed merely in words; his witness went beyond proclamation to concrete action. Love is not a single act but a gradual dying to self. While we may not be called to die as martyrs, as St. Stephen was when he bore witness to his faith, we are called to be martyrs in our daily lives. This daily martyrdom takes the form of surrendering to the demands of love and self-giving–to our loved ones, especially those who require our time and patience; to our sick children; to those who are mentally or physically challenged; to our frail, demented, or difficult elderly; to standing up for our colleagues; and to serving the members of our community. It is in these daily sacrifices, offered in love, that St. Stephen shows us the true meaning of discipleship.
St. Stephen also served the Lord by being a witness to his faith in Christ. He was not ashamed of the Lord but remained faithful to the Word of God. Even under threat and hostility, he boldly proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. He was not afraid to debate with those who were against our Lord. And the Holy Spirit was clearly at work in him, for “they found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. They were infuriated when they heard what he said, and ground their teeth at him.”
He spoke the truth of Christ so directly and forcefully that his listeners were stunned and enraged by what he said. St. Stephen bore witness to the truth and died for the truth. He was a martyr who gave witness to the truth even unto death. Jesus had already warned His disciples that this would be the cost of faith and love: “Beware of men: they will hand you over to the Sanhedrin and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.”
Few of us today are ready to stand up for the faith because we are afraid of being unpopular. We seek to be popular, accepted, honoured, and loved. We live in a world where we are expected to use politically correct language so that no one is offended. As a result, we often couch our words ambiguously instead of speaking plainly. If we were as direct as St. Stephen was, we might not face death, but we would certainly encounter hostility, criticism, hate mail, or even threats. Of course, this does not mean that we must speak with the same forcefulness as Stephen did in his particular time and context. Rather, we are called to speak the truth clearly and without ambiguity, but always with charity.
Even with the best intentions, we will still be misunderstood and condemned. This is where we are called to be generous in forgiveness and humility. Although St. Stephen spoke the truth out of love for his fellow Jews, he did not take their rejection personally. His love for God kept him from yielding to the pressure of his enemies. Even as he was being stoned, he imitated Christ by praying for those who persecuted him. He did not respond with anger or revenge. Such an example of love eventually won Saul over; Stephen’s prayer must have been powerful, for Saul was later converted.
We can do this only if we follow St. Stephen in entrusting our lives to the Lord. Scripture tells us that as he was dying, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and then knelt down and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” We too are called to entrust our lives to God in faith and to forgive our enemies. Letting go and surrendering everything to the Lord brings deep peace, even when we appear to have failed in the eyes of the world. What matters is not how the world sees us, but how God sees us. Forgiveness and abandonment to God bring serenity and peace, opening our hearts to hope and allowing God’s grace to work powerfully in those who witness our unconditional love and forgiveness. Therefore, we must pray for the Holy Spirit to speak through us, trusting that the Father is at work. We need not be anxious, for God is in control.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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